Flame throwers have been used in the past for many different applications, ranging from military operations to firefighting. Traditional flame throwers include a large fluid container for containing a flammable fluid, and a large propellant container for containing a propellant. The propellant is used to selectively dispense the fuel through a nozzle. The fluid and propellant containers are generally connected to a frame which is then carried on a user's back. In other words, the fluid and propellant containers are generally in the form of a back pack unit, which may be cumbersome in many applications.
Such a flame thrower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,340,012 to Cave et al. The flame thrower includes a pair of fuel containers carried by a frame, and a propellant container also carried by the frame between the pair of fuel containers. The frame is carried on the users back in a back pack configuration. A valve adjacent the top of the fuel containers on the frame (behind the user) must first be manually opened to operate the flame thrower. A nozzle is in fluid communication with the fuel containers and is carried by the user. This configuration may be disadvantageous, however, due to its large size and complicated operation. Exposure of the large fuel containers having flammable fluid therein may pose a risk to the user.
Another such flame thrower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,449 to Alter. The flame thrower also includes a fuel container, and a propellant container carried by a frame. The propellant container is perpendicular to the fluid container. A valve adjacent the bottom of the fluid container (behind the user) must be manually opened to operate the flame thrower. Again, this configuration may be disadvantageous due to its large size and complicated operation. Further, the exposure of the large fluid container may pose a risk to the user.
A one-shot flame thrower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,568 to Fowler et al. The flame thrower includes a U-shaped fuel container having a piston for pressurizing flammable fluid therein. A rupture cap is included between the end of the fuel container and a nozzle hose. The fuel container is pressurized and the rupture cap breaks to release the flammable fluid. Accordingly, the rupture cap must be replaced after every use. The flame thrower may be complicated to use, and costly when used more than once.